HDR implementation is broken

[Maranares]

As you say RDR2 has been patched so I didn't mention it. I haven't played Hitman 3 yet, but Hitman 1 + 2 had excellent HDR on the PS4.
Apart from CP2077 and RDR2 I am not aware of any game with HDR problems and I have played a lot of games with HDR support on the PS4 Pro / PS5 since 2016.

H1 and H2 have great HDR indeed, it's just H3 that isn't implemented well. Hope they fix it with time.

Another game with terrible HDR off the top of my head was Monster Hunter World. I don't know if it has been patched out, but when i played it, it was a disaster.

NieR: Automata was far from perfect too.

Of course most games' HDR get fixed sooner of later - and so will CP i hope. It's just that at launch it doesn't fully work in many cases.

 

[cyber_glitch_y]

I have no idea about all this technobabble. All I know is that if I go into a room where it isn't blaring daylight or look at a shadowy corner at any time of day, I don't want everything to be pitch black and impossible to see in.

I hate needing to bump up the brightness/gamma by 20 points just to see shit then need to bump it back down to see in the light afterwords. That's not how eyes work.

Yes even with HDR disabled, there are plenty of instances where it's absolutely impossible to see the environment either because its too dark or too bright.

If the logic is that in real life you have pitch black areas, then there should be a flash light or flare in the game. Similarly sunglasses should block some light!

Personally I've finished the game and all the side missions so I'm not bothered anymore.

 

[Antonello99]

HDR it's still broken after 8 months......
And it's not acceptable for a game full of neon lights.

 

[Liquidcyberpunk]

As a traditional painter I disagree with his idea of "blacks should be muted grey." My paintings below demonstrate natural grey tones and darker blacks with color. Blacks should always be raised in chroma from warm or cool depending on the terrain or artificial lights that play on the surface.

The games use of contrast and colors in CP2077 look amazing and look natural. My paintings demonstrate colors using blacks that should never be muted greys but raised in chroma either warm or cool. This can be found in classical painters and in nature.

The cat on the left has darker shadows but feels natural because the lights aren't blown out like my version of joker on the right. The cats grey halftones come closer to the darks which creates the illusion of natural light. As the shadow recedes in space it gets darker but as the shapes come foward in space they become lighter. CDPR knows this theory and made it work.

 

[Azulath]

I did it months ago, nobody seems to care.

That's odd, I have at least received an e-mail where they told me that they are aware of the issue.

As a traditional painter I disagree with his idea of "blacks should be muted grey." ...

I honestly disagree with that. Yes, you can use greys and elevated blacks to get a certain visual image but there is definitely a problem if you cannot display blacks as all zeroed values. The issue is that if you cannot do that you neither can display reds properly. Sure you have created an artwork and used different black levels and that's fine but as an artist you have to agree that the colours should be "correct" for them to work. For Cyberpunk 2077 red is not - this is a RGB space example, I know HDR uses a different colour scheme but it's easier that way - (255,0,0) but in fact (255,20,20). This ruins all other colours and this can also clearly be seen.

 

[mrc247]

The release notes for Patch 1.3 have been published. Not a word about the broken HDR implementation.

 

[Tommysonic5]

Just started playing this game again, now on PC after my One X died last January. Pretty disappointing to turn on HDR nearly a year after release and find it all dark / washed out.
Edit: Auto HDR is a good workaround for now maybe (Keep in-game HDR setting off)

 

[Azulath]

Just started playing this game again, now on PC after my One X died last January. Pretty disappointing to turn on HDR nearly a year after release and find it all dark / washed out.
Edit: Auto HDR is a good workaround for now maybe (Keep in-game HDR setting off)

Windows 11's Auto HDR works for Cyberpunk 2077? I tried it myself quickly when I upgraded to W11, but it didn't seem to work properly. But I might have gotten something wrong.

Does your desktop on Windows 11 look washed out when HDR is enabled? Mine does, although HDR content like in Horizon: Zero Dawn or Guardians of the Galaxy does work perfectly.

 

[mrc247]

On the PS5 there is also the option to output SDR content as HDR. So I turned off HDR in the game and used the feature on the PS5. It looks better than the HDR the game produces, but still far from a correct HDR image.

 

[andrewdilley]

Windows 11's Auto HDR works for Cyberpunk 2077? I tried it myself quickly when I upgraded to W11, but it didn't seem to work properly. But I might have gotten something wrong.

Does your desktop on Windows 11 look washed out when HDR is enabled? Mine does, although HDR content like in Horizon: Zero Dawn or Guardians of the Galaxy does work perfectly.

I think my desktop did look really 'muted' when I first tried the HDR setting. I had to jigger with a bunch of setting on the TV (not on the PC) and either it genuinely fixed something, I just got used to it or Windows 11 does it better now. Sorry, not too helpful! TV settings obviously depends on brand, mine is Philips 50PUS7334 and there were a few options it seemed to need tweaking to make best use of an HDR PC input. Eg 'Picture Style' set to 'HDR Game', adjusting contrast, brightness and sharpness. And I had to change the HDMI cable before it even recognised the signal as HDR.

 

[Azulath]

I think my desktop did look really 'muted' when I first tried the HDR setting. I had to jigger with a bunch of setting on the TV (not on the PC) and either it genuinely fixed something, I just got used to it or Windows 11 does it better now. Sorry, not too helpful! TV settings obviously depends on brand, mine is Philips 50PUS7334 and there were a few options it seemed to need tweaking to make best use of an HDR PC input. Eg 'Picture Style' set to 'HDR Game', adjusting contrast, brightness and sharpness. And I had to change the HDMI cable before it even recognised the signal as HDR.

Yeah, I tried to configure it but it still looks washed out in the desktop. It's a pity that MS isn't able to introduce a HDR desktop, but then again as long as the games that properly (!) support it look fine I don't mind. For me, Windows is a glorified games launcher anyway (I have a different non-windows computer for my work)

That being said, it seems like some monitors do have an easier time now with Windows 11 but not all of them...

 

[Azulath]

I think my desktop did look really 'muted' when I first tried the HDR setting. I had to jigger with a bunch of setting on the TV (not on the PC) and either it genuinely fixed something, I just got used to it or Windows 11 does it better now. Sorry, not too helpful! TV settings obviously depends on brand, mine is Philips 50PUS7334 and there were a few options it seemed to need tweaking to make best use of an HDR PC input. Eg 'Picture Style' set to 'HDR Game', adjusting contrast, brightness and sharpness. And I had to change the HDMI cable before it even recognised the signal as HDR.

So, I gave AutoHDR a try and it does seem to work for Cyberpunk 2077 now, especially with the intensity cranked up to 11. That being said, it still seems like SDR has more vibrant colours than HDR with AutoHDR. (AutoHDR still looks way better than the game's HDR.)

 

[jonas25br]

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong. But on my W11 with HDR enabled, when choosing one of the HDR options in Cyberpunk 2077, the display gets the pink image, until I disable it in the game and disable it in Windows to return to normal. My DP is 1.2, and everything is updated to date.

 

[Notserious80]

So, I gave AutoHDR a try and it does seem to work for Cyberpunk 2077 now, especially with the intensity cranked up to 11. That being said, it still seems like SDR has more vibrant colours than HDR with AutoHDR. (AutoHDR still looks way better than the game's HDR.)

Tbh ive noticed that too in pretty much everything in HDR. Widegamut colours gets noticeble weaker on my screen with HDR on to, in everything. Not that odd tho since you pretty much overbright the image. For me CP2077 looks fine with HDR on in game atleast havent tested alot of autoHDR since it has built in.